PSG beats Angers, but title party stays on ice
Paris Saint-Germain earned a comfortable 3-0 win at Angers but was unable to start its Ligue 1 title party after Marseille defeated Nantes.
With its title rivals losing, and Kylian Mbappe and Sergio Ramos having got on the scoresheet, Mauricio Pochettino's men looked to be heading for a 10th championship at half-time.
But, while its extended its lead in the second period thanks to Marquinhos, it was ultimately denied the title thanks to a Marseille comeback.
Instead, PSG must wait to celebrate an eighth success in 10 seasons, even if victory on that front still looks inevitable.
The visitor was hit with an early blow when Mauro Icardi pulled up in the warm-up, forcing Pochettino to bring Eric Ebimbe into his starting XI.
Angers looked ready to capitalise when Sofiane Boufal tested Keylor Navas from distance before passing a one-on-one chance wide of the post.
Unfortunately, the former Southampton man lasted just 14 minutes before succumbing to injury, and PSG underlined their threat when Thilo Kehrer and Marquinhos both went close from Angel Di Maria corners.
That pressure ultimately told, with Mbappe making the breakthrough before the half-hour mark courtesy of a swift exchange of passes with Achraf Hakimi and a left-footed piledriver.
That meant PSG moved onto 11 goals scored from outside the box this season, and that Angers had conceded 10 – Ligue 1's best and worst records respectively.
But the host almost had a long-distance goal of its own to treasure soon after, Mohamed-Ali Cho striking the post with a curler.
Its failure to take that chance was punished before the break, however, Ramos heading home yet another delicious Di Maria cross from the left.
Unbeaten in its last 23 Ligue 1 games when leading at half-time (W22, D1), PSG showed no signs that an unexpected collapse might be on the cards after the restart.
It instead looked likelier to extend its lead, with Hakimi being denied after sneaking in behind early doors, while Mbappe forced a fine save with another powerful left-footer from inside the box soon after.
Hopes of an Angers fight-back were further extinguished when a penalty was overturned after a VAR review showed Kehrer making a clean challenge on Cho in the box.
That ensured that, despite the loss of substitute Edouard Michu to a late and perhaps unfortunate red card, PSG had little trouble in seeing out a straightforward win that moves them a step closer to the Ligue 1 trophy.
